Apparatus for playing a game of skill.



PATENTED sBPT. 4, 1906.

E. H. BOOK. APPARATUS FOR PLAYING A GAME OF SKILL.

APPLICATION IILED JAN-25. 1906.

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' UNITED STATES PATENT @EETGE.

EMIL HEINRICH BOCK, OF HAMBURG, GERMANY.

APPARATUS FOR PLAYING A GAME OF SKILL- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 4:, 1906.

Application filed January 25,1906. Serial No. 297,847.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMIL HErNRIeH Book, a subject of the German Emperor,and a resident of No. 13 St. Georges-strasse, Hamburg, Germany, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating toApparatus for Playing a Game of Skill, of which the following is aspecification.

The subject-matter of the present application relates to apparatus for agame of skill in which an inserted coin or the like is to be thrown bymeans of a rocking sickle-shaped lever into an opening in aperpendicular wall.

The subject-matter of the present application is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in Which- Figure 1 is a perspective front view ofthe apparatus, while Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the winning andlosing passages with the ball-shutting device, into which passages thecoin rolls. Figs. 3 and 4 show a second form of the winning and losingpassages with a ballshutting device, while Figs. 5 and 6 represent aswinging passage which can act both as a winning-passage and also as alosing-passage.

The apparatus is arranged in a box A, and the game consists in throwinga coin e or the like into the box from outside through a slot The coinmust fall on the sickle-shaped i ever b, which is movably supported at0, and said coin runs in a groove along said lever. The player takeshold of the handle a, extending outside the box, and rocks the lever bso that the coin runs to and fro in the groove in said lever. Thelever 1) moves tightly against a wall f, which is perpendicu lar or onlyslightly inclined, in which wall there is an opening d, into which thecoin is to be thrown by exercising a certain amount of skill, while inthe absence of skill it rolls off at g at. the opposite end of thelever. By adjustingthe pivot 0, for instance, by means of a screw m inthe vertical direction or by displacing the limit of rocking of thelever in the horizontal direction by means of the plate 72, and thescrew (1 the game can be made easier or more difliculta thing which canbe readily understood, as the lever is thereby adjusted nearer to orfarther from the winningopen ing. The box A is completely closed. Themotion of the coin can be observed through a glass window B at thefront. Consequently the above-mentioned adjustments within the closedbox can be made. By simply slanting the apparatus the game could be mademuch easier by any player, and the following contrivances are intendedto prevent this. In Fig. 2 are represented the winning-passage n and thelosing-passage 1, which are arranged behind the wall f and into whichthe coin 0 passes as soon as it is thrown through the opening (Z.

In the case of normal play the coin 0 passes through the opening (Z intothe passage 'n, and becomes visible at is behind the wall], whichconsists most suitably of glass. If, however, the player wishes to makethe game easier and tilts the box A backward or somewhat sidewise, thepassage a is closed by means of a ball 2, which is confined in a smallcage or easing which is situated in front of this passage and which isconnected with thelatter by an opening. The coin c on falling throughthe opening (Z strikes against this ball 2, as it has a tendency to passinto the passage a, glides off the ball and is so led into thelosingpassage 7*. The coin does not appear behind the glass window butfalls into the losingbox.

A second form for preventing unfair play is shown in Figs. 3 and 4 Inthis case at the back of the wall f, directly under the hole d, are twopassages ac and 1 which can likewise be closed by a ball z. The ball 2runs on a wire or on an edge above both the winningpassage y and thelosing-passage 00. Behind these two passages there is a further passagew, Fig. 4, which is also a losing-passage. The wire or the edge aresomewhat inclined so that the ball 2 in its normal position is over thelosing-passage 00. If new the player, in order to make the game easierinclines the apparatus somewhat to the side, the ball runs over thewinning-passage y and closes it. The coin falling through the opening (1glides oil the ball and is led into the losingpassage it. If the playertilts the apparatus backward, the lap 0 turns on account of its weightand opens the passage w, so that the coin falls into the latter, theresult being that the player has likewise lost, whereas on the coinsliding through the winning-passage 1 it appears in the elongatedopening is behind the glass window. The flap e closes the passage tofrom the first two passages, as the coin might easily happen duringnormal play to fall into the losing-passage w on account of its ownimpetus.

As the third form of the winning and losing passages for the preventionof unfair play the arrangement shown in Figs. 5 and 6 may be used, inwhich a pendulum"; is situated behind the winning-opening d. Thependulum i is formed as a passage and leads the coin c thrown throughthe opening (Z into the passage n, so that it ap ears, as before, at kbehind the window I the player wishes to make the game easier, bytilting the apparatus in the manner indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 5vit is evident from this position of the pendulumthat the winning-openingd is reduced, be-

cause the wall of the pendulum comes in front of it, or in case theapparatus it tilted still farther the winning-opening will liecompletely outside the guidingassage of the pendulum. Consequently t ecoin would not be led into the winning-passage n, but would fall intothe box A. On tilting the apparatus backward the pendulum 11 leaves thewall f, and the coin a does not pass into the conducting-passage on thependulum, but falls directly into the box A. In order to remove thecoins from the holder 70, in which they are visible behind the wall f,the back Wall Z is pressed by means of a pencil, for instance. Said wallis formed as a leaf-spring, so that on being pressed the coins fallthrough an o ening into the winning-box. If the coin falls from thelever, with the exception of those cases in which it rolls off at g, itpasses by means of an oblique guide and slot to the outside of the boxA, and the player can use the coin again. Copper or nickel coins arespecially suited for the game; but it is obvious that instead of coinsother disk-shaped or spherical objects capable of rolling may beemployed.

I claim 1. Apparatus for playing agame of skill comprising incombination a box having a glass front, a wall in said box dividing thesame into two compartments and having a hole, and a pivotedsickle-shaped lever in the front compartment having a handle extendingoutside the box, said lever being intended to be operated by the playerin such a way that a rolling object such as a coin placed on the leveris at will ejected through the abovementioned hole in theabove-mentioned wall, substantially as described.

2. Apparatus for playing a game of skill comprising in combination a boxhaving a glass front, a wall in said box dividing the same into twocompartments and having a hole, a pivoted sickle-shaped grooved lever inthe front compartment having a handle ex tending outside the box, losingand winning passages in the back compartment of the box and meansadapted when the box is tilted to prevent an object after passingthrough the above-mentioned hole from entering the winning-passage, saidlever being intended to be operated by the player in sucha way that arolling object such as a coin placed on the le'- ver is at Will ejectedthrough the above-mentioned hole in the above-mentioned wall into thewinning-passage, substantially as described.

3. Apparatus for playing a game of skill comprising in combination a boxhaving a glass front, a wall in said box dividing the same into twocompartments and having a hole, a pivoted sickle-shaped grooved lever inthe front compartment having a handle extending outside the box, meansfor adjusting the pivot of the lever, means for limiting the downwardmotion of the lever consisting of the plate h and screw 9, losing andwinning passages in the back compartment of the box and means adaptedwhen the box is tilted to prevent an object after passing through theabove-mentioned hole from entering the winning-passage, said lever beingintended to be operated by the player in such a way that a rollingobject such as a coin placed on the lever is at will ejected through theabove-mentioned hole in the above-mentioned wall into thewinning-passage, substantially as described.

4. Apparatus for playing a game of skill comprising in combination a boxhaving a glass front, a wall in said box dividing the same into twocompartments and having a hole, a pivoted sickle-shaped grooved lever inthe front compartment having a handle extending outside the box, losingand winning passages m, y in the back compartment of the box with theirupper ends situated under the above-mentioned hole, a wire inclined tothe horizontal situated above said passages, and a ball 2 running onsaid wire and normally situated over the losing-passage, and adaptedwhen the box is tilted to prevent an object after passing through theabove-mentioned hole from entering the winning-passage, said lever beingintended to be operated by the player insuch a way that a rolling objectsuch as a coin placed on the lever is at will ejected through theabovementioned hole in the above-mentioned wall into the winningpassage, substantially as described.

5. Apparatus for playing a game of skill comprising in combination a boxhaving a glass front, a wall in said box dividing the same into twocompartments and having a hole, a pivoted sickle-shaped grooved lever inthe front compartment having a handle ex tending outside the box,losing-passages w, x, and a winning-passage y in the back compartment ofthe box with the upper ends of the passages 90, y situated under theabovementioned hole, a wi re inclined to the horizontal situated abovesaid passages 00, y, a swinging flap 6 normally closing the opening ofthe losing-passage w but adapted when the box is tilted to open saidlosing-passage, and a ball 2 running on said wire and normally situatedover the losing-passage, and adapted IIC when the box is tilted toprevent an object the above-mentioned Wall into thewinningaftlerfFassing througfh the above-mentioneci passage,substantially as described.

ho e 0m entering t 1e winningassztge, saic lever being intended to beope ated by the EMIL HEINRICH BOOK player in such a Way that a rollingobject Witnesses:

such as a 00in placed on the lever is at will MAX PASTOR,

ejected through the above-mentioned hole in FRAU R. DREESEN. ml

